Lauri Markkanen dominates as Finland overcomes the Czech Republic / News - Basketnews.com

Lauri Markkanen scored 34 points to lead Finland past the Czech Republic. The team now needs to win its last game against the Netherlands to qualify to the next round.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Lauri Markkanen dominated against the Czech Republic (1-3) as Finland (2-2) captured an important 98-88 (29-18, 22-27, 21-14, 26-29) win in Group D.

Player of the Game EFF 32 Lauri Markkanen Points 34 Accuracy 9-20 Rebounds 10 Assists 1

Markkanen finished the game with 34 points on 9-for-20 shooting. The forward made 13 free throws out of 14 and grabbed 10 rebounds to complete a double-double. Markkanen now trails only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Sasha Vezenkov in EuroBasket 2022 in points per game with 25.5.

Finland took off immediately with a strong 14-5 start. The Nordic national team maintained the lead throughout the first 10 minutes to lead 29-18.

Although the Finnish led by 15 with just under 3 minutes to go in the first half (48-33), the Czechs answered with a 12-0 run to narrow their deficit to just three (48-45), and the teams were separated by just six going into the locker rooms.

Finland continued to maintain the lead while the Czech Republic tried to come back. The story continued throughout the fourth quarter as well but the home team was ultimately not successful.

The difference between the teams did not go lower than 8 points in the final 10 minutes of the match, and the Finnish celebrated their second victory in the tournament.

Finland now needs to either win its last game against the Netherlands or hope that Israel defeats the Czech Republic to be sure of advancing to the next round.

Finland: Lauri Markkanen 34 (6/11 2PT, 3/9 3PT, 13/14 FT, 10 REB), Sasu Salin 23 (5/8 3PT), Petteri Koponen 14 (3/4 3PT), Elias Valtonen 11 (3/9 2PT).

Czech Republic: Vojtech Hruban 22 (6/9 2PT), Jan Vesely 15 (5/7 2PT, 6 REB), Patrik Auda 13 (5/6 2PT, 3/7 FT), Jaromir Bohacik 13.

Lauri Markkanen's highlights:

Full game highlights:

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